30 of the Best Book Covers of the Year (So Far)

In 2020, that most decidedly damned of years, art and design were a poultice for many … or at least a worthy distraction from the goings-on of a global pandemic.

In 2021, as the world begins to rebound and bask in the hope offered by vaccines and new leadership, visual culture has served to uplift, energize and surprise.

That is readily apparent in a trip to the bookstore (virtual or otherwise). Regardless of whether there’s an optimism and energy packed into some of these jackets or it’s simply the byproduct of emerging into the first spring following a beleaguered year, we’re elated by the design that has been dancing across shelves of late.

Here are 30 of our favorites.

(Read about how Corral sees the world here.)

(Read much more about this cover, and Na Kim, here.)

(Read more about the Penguin Green Ideas series here.)

(Read about Mendelsund’s approach to book cover design here.)

(See more of Morrison’s work here.)